One of us being a West Ham fan, and the other, a Liverpool supporter, we chose “The Frenchman”, (no longer ‘happy’), as the venue in which to enjoy/suffer the match on Saturday.

The pub exterior

There were not too many people in the pub, when we arrived, so the choice of seating position was ours, but the lay-out of the 6 screens in relation to comfortable seating areas, had us indecisive for a while. (There is a large screen, but we found it lacking in clarity, compared to the smaller screens, but this was probably due to the bright sunlight coming through the windows, it being a glorious late summer afternoon).

The view from our seats.

The pool table to our right, with a super polished floor beneath.

We found the atmosphere to be welcoming and unintimidating. The interior was well lit, clean and freshly and subtley decorated. The 2 areas of wooden floors were the shiniest examples either of us can remember seeing. There is also a newly established outside seating area.

Our screen for the match, and the pub dartboard.

Being ale drinkers, we can’t score the pub highly for its range of beer, as there was only one (Shephard Neame) ale available on the day, but had we been lager drinkers, we would have been well served.

Overall rating : Pretty good.

Luckily, Mr Wayne Reeves who runs Gallery 49 down the Old High Street had informed us that a friend of his has a blues band who were due to play at The Lifeboat Pub (Lifeboat Pub, North Street, Folkestone, Kent, CT19 6AF) so we decided to pay a visit.

We had previously been a patron at the pub due to its excellent garden, which on a glorious day is bathed in sunshine, and even offers views to the harbour from the top benches.

Walking into the pub we were blasted by the volume of the music, which was a little bit too loud for a small pub like that, but those hardy blues fans were loving it.

We grabbed the drinks, and went out to take in some of the sun, but it wasn’t to last so we scuttled back inside when the rain started to drop and took a seat. I even saw some complimentary bowls of mini sausage rolls doing the rounds.

(Photo courtesy of Prince Vince’s other half ‘Nature Sam)

Wayne (who is also partial to a bit of drumming) then informed us that he was due a guestspot on an upcoming song.

See Wayne and Blue Train in action below :

And for your viewing pleasure I give you :

We recommend The Lifeboat. It’s a proper pub, with friendly regulars, quality live music, real ales and one of the best pub gardens you will find.

There is some interesting and enjoyable work in the collection. Some personal favourites were woodcuts by Monica Poole, a linocut by Peter Ford ( based on a superb engraving by Bruegel, of an artist and connoiseur, that I once used on a business card), a Fred Cuming mono-type of a wave, and some Alice in Wonderland prints by Peter Blake. I was also pleased to see a watercolour and pencil study of Sandgate Castle, by Kevin Hennessy, my old art teacher, and an etching of a redstart by David Koster, who taught me on foundation at Medway.

Surprisingly, the large Carel Weight painting was a disappointment. Partly because Weight’s thin scratchy brushwork seems less impressive to me now than when I enjoyed it as a student, partly because it is in poor condition, which must surely be due, to some extent, to the conditions it has been stored in(?), and partly because it was not displayed to its best advantage in the drawing room of the Grand.

This last point highlights the biggest issue to come out of the show for me. The Grand is a superb building, lives up to its name as a fine place to go for a meal or a drink and some rowdy converstion, but with the best will in the world, it is not a fitting venue for a serious art exhibition.

All of the glazed works in the Palm Court were difficult to see through the complicated reflections, and there is just too much (understandable) restaurant ‘clutter’, to see the works properly.

In the drawing room, the bird of paradise wallpaper fought against the paintings hung against it, and there was an inescapable sense that the larger paintings were squeezed into the only spaces they would fit, regardless of how well they looked.

The problem is, that with the closure of the Metropole Galleries, there is no venue in Folkestone capable of housing an exhibition of any scale and stature. The Triennial succeeded by using the whole town and its environment as the venue. But with the Metropole collection having been fought for and saved from being sold off, and (reluctantly?) taken on by the creative foundation, what is the future for it? Is it to be a stagnant collection, or will it grow, and either way, will there ever be a space in Folkestone, fit for it, and other larger shows, to be seen in?